OK, so this one isn’t actually a novel, but still. Here is a fabulous collection of short stories from a master storyteller. “Kaleidoscope” and “The Rocket Man” are two stories that still sort of haunt me to this day.

A.A. Milne is a genius. There is a depth of insight here that’s only hinted at in the cartoons. The wordplay is fabulous. I love, love, love how Milne captures the guileless self-absorption of childhood in these characters. And the end of this book (a whimsical, almost Calvin and Hobbes-esque send-off) is magnificent.

I first read Dawn Treader when I was ten, and it’s still my favorite of the Narnia books. My fascination with the story probably stems from the fact the ocean has always seemed to this Nebraska kid like a pretty great adventure.

I think A. A. Milne, who adapted this lovely book for the stage, said it best: “When you sit down to it, don’t be so ridiculous as to suppose that you are sitting in judgment on my taste, or on the art of Kenneth Grahame. You are merely sitting in judgement on yourself. You may be worthy: I don’t know. But it is you who are on trial.”